


far too late

by lokh



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 11:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4219620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokh/pseuds/lokh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The rarest of rarepairs comes into fruition as the metaphorical marriage of the freshly graduated Suga and the perpetually awkward Akiteru cements the former students' relations to the woeful Kei (and by association, the Karasuno volleyball team).</p>
            </blockquote>





	far too late

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AstronautSquid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstronautSquid/gifts).



> When you said you wanted a Suga rarepair, this probably isn’t what you meant. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy regardless!

“You know, your brother’s pretty cute.”

Tsukishima Kei paused. Had it been anyone but him, the water he was in the midst of drinking would have been splattered all over the floor and the inside of his nose, but as it was, it remained, quite stubbornly, inside his mouth. He tried not to swallow too obviously.

Had the speaker been anyone else, perhaps the statement would have seemed a mere innocent conversation filler, not really true or untrue and said for the pure purpose of avoiding silence (which was honestly quite unnecessary, given how loud the crowd was being). As it was, the statement could be taken as nothing but entirely sincere, and was possibly the furthest thing from innocent coming from Suga’s smiling mouth.

“…right.”

Despite having graduated, the third-years visited practice often, not even to speak of their matches, official or unofficial. Suga visited less so, his university quite a ways from the Karasuno out in the sticks, but he made it a point to come every once in a while as the tournaments drew ever closer. His calming presence was sorely missed, easily able to wrangle the unruly first-years into submission. (Sawamura’s presence was missed less so by the first-years, the feared bad cop to Suga’s good cop. The newly christened second and third-years loved him so.)

With time, however, his words became no less inscrutable. Akiteru stood above them among the audience, as close to the court as he possibly could be, gripping the rails and yelling as loud as Saeko next to him. Under the most brutal of tortures, Kei would never admit that his brother was ‘ _cute_ ’, and, looking at him now (sweaty and flushed and voice cracking embarrassingly), wasn’t really sure what it was that Suga saw as… ‘cute’, in him. (Though Kei didn’t really want to ask.) Not that height was exactly a deciding factor in cuteness, but at a solid six feet tall, his older brother was quite a bit taller than Suga himself. Akiteru had long forgone the ridiculous ‘disguise’ he’d initially insisted on wearing (in no small part due to the insistence of Kei himself, for if he was going to show up unannounced he may as well do so in something that wasn’t completely humiliating), but it’s not as though he dressed any more stylishly, or, hell, even _presentably_. Out of the two, if one were to be called ‘cute’, one would think that it would be Suga. Not that Kei would ever admit something like this.

“Does he always show up?” Suga asked, casually, as though he wasn’t forcing Kei to uncomfortably acknowledge his brother in a light he never thought he’d have to. Kei briefly considered sending him off to ask Akiteru himself. The moment ended and he concluded it’d be more trouble than it was worth.

“Only for official matches,” Kei said, not taking his eyes off the court. Suga hummed beside him, and Kei decided then that he didn’t want to know.

 

 

“Hey,” Akiteru said, pausing from his shouting (not because he needed a break or anything!) to turn to Saeko, who abruptly stopped as well, eyes curious and flicking back to the court. “Why do _they_ get to stand down there at the court? I mean, I get that they were on the team before, but it’s the same with other people here, like. They have to stand with the audience, too?”

The _they_ in question was Asahi and Suga, standing over by the bench. (The previous captain was unable to make it due to prior commitments. To be completely honest, he sort of intimidated Akiteru. Which wasn’t to say that he was scary, no! He was just a really, really good captain.) The way they were dressed (well, Suga, at least), in a t-shirt and shorts, they could be mistaken for a pair of students, waiting to be subbed in.

There’s no question that they’ve changed, though, in what little time it’s been since he’s seen them. To be _fair_ , it’s not as though he’d seen them often while they still studied at Karasuno (and he had Kei to thank for that), but even he could see that they were different from how they were before. The bearded one still seemed to be super anxious all the time, shifty gaze every bit as suspicious as it had been previously, but he’d seemed to mellow out a bit, just that tiny bit less high-strung. (Just a bit. He still had a ways to go, if his worried hem had anything to show for it.)

Then there was the former vice-captain. On the occasions that Akiteru could squeeze anything about volleyball out of Kei’s mouth, he only described ‘Sugawara-san’ as calm and level-headed. He certainly looked it, at least from here – he could give the stoic Kei next to him a run for his money in the competition of ‘who could seem the most collected despite the odds’. At 23-24, even _Akiteru_ was beginning to feel the stirrings of adrenalin tracing his spine, and he was standing all the way over here!

Suga’s hair was shorter than he remembered, almost as short as Kei’s but just that bit wavier. Physically, he didn’t seem much more different, but his smile seemed to have changed. Or maybe Akiteru was just imagining it? Suga was a person that smiled often and almost reflexively, a content smile seeming to be his default expression, so for Suga to smile at him when he saw him enter with Saeko didn’t seem anything unusual. The almost _coy_ quality of his gaze, warm brown eyes peeking up through fluttering silver lashes, must have just been Akiteru being a weirdo. Suga might be 18 now, but in his heart, he would always be Kei’s _senpai_ , and so long as Kei was in high school, so would Suga be, purely by association. (Sorry, Sugawara-san.)

Saeko stared expectantly at him, and somehow the fact that she was waiting for him to stop zoning out was worse than if he had just not heard her speaking, especially with her knowing grin.

“Well, from what I’ve heard, Ukai-san wants them there for another opinion. Plus, the kids wouldn’t stop yelling about it.”

“Right…”

Saeko continued to stare. Akiteru was sure that he was only sweating because of all the cheering he was doing. (Not because the intimidating face seemed to be a family trait.) He wasn’t always the most perceptive person (if Kei’s long side-glances were anything to go by), but even he knew that he’d dread whatever came out of Saeko’s sly mouth next.

Before she could open her mouth, though, the second-year manager (Yachi?) was speeding up to them, panting all the way and effectively cutting off Saeko. Akiteru had never before known that such merciful messengers of the gods could exist.

“Hitoka-chan!” Saeko almost-shouts, excitement coloring her voice, and Akiteru is almost offended at how quickly she stopped caring about anything to do with his person. Almost. “What are you doing? Aren’t you Karasuno’s _best manager_ now?”

Yachi flushed, but nonetheless looks pleased, face glowing with pride (and a thin sheen of sweat). “Well! I don’t know about _best_ ,” and Akiteru knew for sure that he wasn’t imagining the less than subtle glance sent Shimizu’s way, “but, yes! It’s been challenging, managing everything by myself, but I can’t say it hasn’t been exciting!”

While the voices of the audience were certainly overpowering, Akiteru wasn’t sure that the yelling at each other from less than a foot away was entirely necessary. And yet.

“That’s good! I knew that you could do it, Hitoka-chan!”

“Thank you very much!”

She paused, then, and the absence of her shrill voice among the raging crowd was enough to make Akiteru turn around to look back at them, tearing his (admittedly rather absent) gaze from the court. Then her eyes widen, as if in surprise, and she couldn’t have possibly only noticed Akiteru _now_ , could she?

“Oh! That’s right. Suga-san asked for Tsukishima-san to come down to the court with him. Ukai-san said it was alright,” then, as an anxious afterthought, accompanied by a shaky bow, “oh, geez! I’m sorry, I didn’t greet you! Good afternoon, Tsukishima-san!”

“It’s fine,” Akiteru said, though he did feel a bit hurt at being forgotten, “good afternoon, Yachi-san.”

Then the words sank in. “Wait. Sugawara-san? How come?”

Yachi shook her head in confusion. “I’m… not really sure. But if Ukai-san said it’s alright, then it must be important.”

Then suddenly Akiteru’s world consisted of little more than pain, and, no, he wasn’t dying, that was just Saeko smacking him on the back. He now knew where Ryuunosuke’s mean spike came from.

“Well, ain’t that great? You got just what you wanted!”

‘ _What, exactly, did I say I’d wanted,_ ’ is what Akiteru _wanted_ to say, but smartly, he held his tongue.

“Right.”

 

 

“Ah, Tsukishima-san! Thanks for coming down.”

“No problem,” though Akiteru wasn’t quite sure whether he meant the coming down to the court or coming down to the match in general. The weight of his smile made him too bashful to ask. “It’s a tough game, huh?”

“Yeah,” Suga said, grinning. Now that Akiteru was closer to him, he could make out the sweat beading down his smooth jaw. From the looks of it, Suga had done his fair share of yelling, the collar of his shirt slightly damp, and, yep, that’s quite enough information to show that he’d been cheering, too. “It’s so exciting! Nerve-wracking, but exciting. It makes me wish I could play with them, still.”

“You don’t play in university, Sugawara-san?”

“Oh, no, of course I do! It’s more of the _team,_ you know? Seeing them growing up and developing their style. Makes you all nostalgic. Also, it’s a bit worrying to see Kageyama and Hinata still being as rowdy as ever. I trust Ennoshita, of course. I’m glad he’s made captain, but sometimes, you really have to wonder about those two.”

Akiteru looked over. From Kageyama’s yelling, he could guess that Hinata had fumbled a serve, and was now dealing with kingly retribution. Though the setter did sound really angry (he had yet to hear an incarnation of the word ‘shithead’ not said in pure fury), he didn’t sound angry at Hinata _specifically_ , and at 25-26 going the other team’s way, they were still hanging on, remaining collected, all things considered.

“How’s Kei doing?”

“I’ve graduated, too, Tsukishima-san,” Suga teased, and the lilt in his voice warmed his ears to a bright cherry red. “That said, I probably _do_ see him more often than you do. You wouldn’t guess that he was the same kid to walk into the gym a year ago, all cool and stuff. He’s still cool, but I feel like he _likes_ playing volleyball a lot more, now.”

“Yeah,” Akiteru said, a slow smile relaxing his lips. The heavy weight on his chest, for a moment, lifted, feet no longer sinking quite so quickly into the ground. “I’m glad to hear that. Kei really _does_ love volleyball, you know, has loved it for a long time. There was a bit where he wasn’t really sure of that, and I was worried it was _my_ fault, you know? He kept pulling away and I didn’t know what to do. But he really has changed. I guess I have Karasuno to thank for that.

“Kei has always been good at volleyball, but I never imagined he’d become such a great player! God, I remember back in the Spring Tournament in his first year, when I snuck in to watch. I still get shivers thinking about that. Don’t tell him I said that, though, he’d think that’s embarrassing. Sometimes I’m a little jealous, seeing him grow so fast, but I’m proud of him.”

The crowd grew louder as though competing against the slam of the ball, but none could drown out the cries of Karasuno as they managed to take the set. Akiteru watched them walk off, still thrumming with energy, and Kei made eye contact with him, briefly, before huffing and turning away. Akiteru tried not to sniff.

As the crowd quietened during the pause, he realized that there was a suspicious lack of talk from beside him.

He turned, laughing awkwardly. “Sorry, I just ended up gushing about Kei. I hope that didn’t come off as… weird…”

He stopped. Suga stared at him, gaze steady, a small, strange smile playing across his lips. His sole attention focused on Akiteru, and his entire body felt unbearably warm, aching and straining to give him the same. Even with the noise around them, for that single moment, all Akiteru knew was Suga’s calm expression, face unreadable, and he was swept up in an overpowering urge to know what was going on in the setter’s head.

“Um.”

Suga started, eyes widening, before he let out a sheepish laugh, cheeks endearingly pink and fingers light at his neck. “Sorry, it’s just. It’s nice to see how much you care about your little brother.”

“You don’t have any siblings?”

“None! The second-years were quite enough for me.”

Akiteru did laugh, then, voice embarrassingly raspy, but Suga didn’t seem to mind (or, at least, was polite enough to not show it if he did). The conversation was cut for a while, as Asahi made it over with a wave and Suga apologetically ran to meet him. Kei seemed to be making a point of not looking over (maybe to avoid having to walk over and talk to him), and Yamaguchi gave him a jaunty wave upon seeing him. Akiteru waved back, and tried to pretend that there wasn’t a disturbing and disappointing absence at his side. He failed.

Eventually, the next set began, and most of the team left their huddle around Ukai to take their place on the court. Eventually, Suga returned, the same place where he’d left but accidentally a bit closer. He didn’t move away, his worn sneakers almost brushing against Akiteru’s. By the time the first serve had been hit (this time successfully by Hinata), neither had yet said anything, and Akiteru began to wonder what exactly he was doing here.

“Sugawara-san, why did you call me down here?”

Suga _laughed_ , a loud, lively thing that was at once teasing and angelic, and Akiteru was, for a moment, hopelessly stunned, shocked at witnessing what seemed to him an indescribable _life-changing experience_ (and oh, boy, was he glad that mind-readers probably didn’t exist), and the only thing that brought him back to earth was Suga’s playful nudge.

“I’m not allowed to want to talk to you once in a while? It’s hard not to get curious, you know! Tsukishima-kun is so tight-lipped about you, and you hardly ever come to watch. I thought it’d be nice if we could have a chat.”

Then he smiled, eyes crinkling, and Akiteru’s stomach flopped, head floating, feeling himself on the edge of a realization he’d been trying to prevent for the better part of their knowing each other. “Also, it’s alright to call me Suga, you know? Or even Koushi, if you’d prefer.”

By the time Akiteru realized, it was far, far too late.

 

 

“You know, Koushi’s pretty nice.”

Kei’s hands stopped, laces half-undone. It’s too late for this shit, he thought, brain at once racing but also blank with resignation. Maybe he could use his being tired as an excuse to leave. If he didn’t talk to him now, though, he’d just end up looking at him like a kicked puppy until he was finally forced to bring it up.

He sighed.

“Hey! What’s that super heavy sigh for, huh?”

“ _Nii_ -san. Sugawara-san is showing up for practice this Friday. You can talk to him then and never, _ever_ , talk to me about it, ever again. _Please_.”

“Um, who said I wanted to talk to him! It’s just that you never talked about him! I didn’t realize he was so nice and friendly. Refreshing, maybe? He really valued you a lot as a teammate, you know. The way you talked about him made me think he was a lot more sneaky.”

 _‘He_ is _sneaky_ ,’ Kei thought, though he was rather sure that he’d never said so in those exact words.

“I thought you wanted me to talk to you about how volleyball was going, not about Sugawara-san, my _senpai_ , _nii-san_.”

“So not cute!”

“Ugh.”

 

 

“Sorry I couldn’t make it last time,” Daichi said, sorry expression slightly marred by exhaustion despite the afternoon light. Suga could sympathise.

“It’s alright. Though, now it’s beardie’s turn to skip out on us.”

In contrast to their lethargic demeanours, the current Karasuno was bright and chipper (is one way it could be described), Tanaka and Nishinoya heading most of the yelling with Hinata in tow. There weren’t quite _geniuses_ among the first-years, not of the unparalleled skill of Kageyama, but they were certainly promising, that determined glimmer in their eyes and stance. Suga had initially worried that the team would be too unstable, what with the leadership switching to the likes of Tanaka (and who _wouldn’t_ worry, honestly, given the team), but with the third-years gone, Kinoshita and Narita had been able to step up, too, and their presence proved stabilising in conjunction with Ennoshita’s leadership.

While it was fun to watch them practice, and they were always up for helping them out and giving advice in any way they could as graduates, they did a lot less than they did as members of the team. Suga knew that the third and second-years appreciated their presence, but he still couldn’t help but feel isolated from them. As much as he hated it, there was always that sense of bitterness, of unhelping longing at watching them play, that reminder that he couldn’t play with them again, not officially, not as a team.

What it boiled down to was that there was a lot less to do.

“I heard that Tsukishima’s brother was showing up to this practice, though,” Suga said, guilelessly, and Daichi’s returning expression was nothing but wary.

“Suga.”

“Geez, why’s everyone so suspicious all of a sudden!” Suga huffed, crossing his arms. “You make it sound like I want to hurt the poor guy! He’s just _interesting_ , that’s all. I don’t see what’s wrong with wanting to get to know him more.”

“Well, nothing’s _wrong_ with it,” Daichi said, face scrunching up. It’s that tell-tale furrow of the brow again – the one that says that he was thinking of Kuroo and was despairing of it. No, they were definitely past the point of thinking gender at all constituted the issue. “It’s just. God, I don’t know. His brother is our _kouhai_. And- I mean, _look at him_. He looks like the kind of guy that wouldn’t realize you were hitting on him with your hand halfway down his pants.”

“You mean like how you were with Kuroo?”

“Oh my _god_.”

“Don’t worry, Daichi. I’ll treat him right,” Suga winked, hilariously over-exaggerated. Daichi rolled his eyes.

“There’s that too, but. I’m worried about you. We’re not in high school anymore, but he is a lot older than us. Plus, I know I said he was innocent, but you’ve really got to wonder, looking at Tsukishima over there.”

They both stared. Tsukishima was laughing, hand at his mouth telling that he was anything but apologetic, holding Hinata at arm’s length while the shorter boy fruitlessly struggled against his grip. Tanaka seemed content to laugh along with him and do absolutely nothing.

“I know,” Suga said, finally, unable to stop the fond smile in much the same way Daichi was unable to prevent the inevitable hair-ruffling and stomach-jabbing. “Thanks, Daichi. I’ll be fine!”

“I can see that,” he wheezed.

“Hey! It’s Tsukishima-niisan!”

Daichi knew from the way Suga’s head whipped around that his attention was lost to him forever. So young do birds leave their nests.

“Hey! Tsukishima-niisan!”

Tanaka and Nishinoya wasted no time in alerting absolutely everyone in the gym to aforementioned brother’s presence, sudden and, should Kei’s irritated gaze be any indicator, late. Kei clicked his tongue, irritated, and while he somehow ended up squabbling with the pair of third-years, Akiteru looked over and met his eyes.

Suga tried not to gasp too loudly. Daichi continued to roll his eyes.

“Sorry, I’m late,” Akiteru said, chest still slightly heaving. He gracelessly dropped his bag and jacket to the floor, an unceremonious heap by his feet. His tie was already somewhat loosened, a neat red against his white shirt. With the grey slacks, one would think that he’d give the overall impression of a student, but he wore it well, the fit far from tailored but enough to show off the slimness of his hips and the breadth of his shoulders. “I rushed over from work. Actually, I was able to leave early, so I’m surprised I was able to come at all!”

“I can see that,” Suga said, eyes still anywhere but his face. His trailing gaze and slow smile made Daichi want to be embarrassed on the Tsukishima’s behalf. “Wow. It really is different seeing you all dressed up, Akiteru.”

Akiteru _blushed_ , a cute and shy pink at odds with his stature, and Suga had to fight hard to quash the dominant response of teasing the heck out of him. Who knew that Tsukishima’s brother ( _Tsukishima Kei,_ the _dick extraordinaire_ , of all people) could be so _cute_?

“Oh, sorry, do you not want me to call you that? It’s just that it’d get a bit confusing, what with your brother over there.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Akiteru stuttered out, voice cracking slightly. “I mean, I _do_ call you Koushi, after all, so it’s fine.”

At the address, Suga didn’t even try to hide the flush of pleasure, preening at the warmth in his chest, and delighted laughter ended up bubbling out, infectious. Akiteru couldn’t help but laugh, too, the pair forgetting how close they were standing to each other.

They also clearly forgot about the rest of the gym.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Kei actually _gagged_ , just a bit away from the scene. “I can’t watch this. I’m going home. Bye.”

“What! Kei,” and Akiteru looked _hurt_ , confusion painting his face, “I came all the way to see you! You can’t just leave!”

“Oh, you did _not_ come here to see me. You came here to flirt with Sugawara-san. Please do that somewhere else. You’re making practice _impossible_.”

“Wh- flirt- Suga- _Koushi_?” and Akiteru went straight from pink to _bright, neon red_ , heat flaring from his cheeks and sweating palms, and it was probably not the best time, but Suga _so_ wanted to pull his cheeks and squeeze his sides. “I don’t- _Kei!_ ”

“Don’t be silly! He’s not flirting. Go on back to practice,” Suga said, finally taking pity on the incoherent Tsukishima. Kei looked like he was going to object, but thought better of it. (The murderous and exasperated glare of Daichi may have helped matters.) When the present team’s attention was (mostly) diverted back to their activities, Suga turned to face Akiteru fully, stepping closer so that only he could hear.

“Well, I don’t _think_ you were flirting,” Suga said, before his voice dropped into a whisper, and had Akiteru not been concentrating on _not_ tearing his eyes away from Suga’s, he would have noticed the slightly guilty tone, “but, well, _I_ was. Are you okay with that?”

Akiteru stared down at him, uncomprehending. Suga didn’t think he could get any redder or more adorable. He was proved wrong on both counts.

“Um. I. Uh.”

His mind was running a mile a minute – he’s out of high school, but about three years is still a pretty big gap, what if Akiteru’s not good for him, what if Koushi ends up not _liking_ him, what if this is the wrong decision and he messes everything up – and though Suga wasn’t privy to every exact thought, it was obvious enough to see the panic written across his face.

“I’m not saying that you have to decide anything _now_ ,” Suga said soothingly, in an attempt to calm him down, and it works somewhat in that Akiteru was shocked into thinking about how maturely Suga was handling it (more so than him, at least, which he vowed to change, starting from right now), and he was beginning to understand why he was such an effective vice-captain. “I’m just saying that I like you, and I’d like to get to know you more. I was hoping it was the same for you?”

Suga looked at him patiently, and Akiteru swallowed thickly. Somewhere along the way, Suga had wrapped his fingers around his own, gentle and soft, and though his were clammy, Suga’s were, too. The warmth of his hands was somehow reassuring. Akiteru decided to be honest.

“I… yeah. That’d be nice. Uh, that is, I like you, too.”

Suga’s grin was nothing short of beatific.

 

 

(Later, when Akiteru and most of the team had filed off, waving goodbye at their parting, Daichi stood next to Suga, staring disbelievingly.

“You _are_ sneaky.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”)


End file.
